A Country Home in Manhattan

As far as houses in New York City go, the one at the corner of Charles and Greenwich Streets may be the most coveted amongst city dwellers. The NY Times takes a look inside the home that so many have tried to peer into as they've passed by. Current owners, Ms. Bieler and Mr. Brodsky, "have been the stewards" of the house for the past 20 of its 200 years. The structure previously resided at a different address, on York and 71st Street, where it moved from in 1967 on a flatbed truck. Bieler purchased the home in 1988, but has never told anyone what the price was (the paper notes that in 1986 it went for $725,000). In 2000 Bieler and Brodksy hired an architect who revived the place, and he told them: “This isn’t a house renovation. This is like repairing a very, very old piece of furniture.” The Times has put together a slideshow of the home...try not to be too jealous as you click through.

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By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on October 30, 2008 2:55 PM

Comments [rss]

Fightycakes

If you street view on google maps someone is bent over trying to see through the vines on the gate. ha ha ha! Pretty funny that google caught that.

NannyState

Mystery solved! And what a sweet little urban retreat. All you condo developers stay away!

JMH

I'm not sure how but I never actually noticed that house before - pretty neat though. Adding to Daniel's suggestion, it would be great if Open House New York were better publicized.

I like the 5th picture in the NYT slideshow - compare it to Google Maps and you can see that while the next building up Greenwich Street has been torn down and replaced by an apartment building, the brownstones along Charles Street look exactly the same.

Daniel Millstone

A curious passer-by, I was invited in to visit this wonderful house two years ago while some construction work was going on. The photo slide-show which accompanies the NY times article is great but the house itself is much, much better. I hope, in the future, it can be part of Open House New York so those of us interested can see close up an amazing restoration-rebuild.

Snoopy

It's one of the great anachronistic buildings in Manhattan. I loved going by it and seeing this funky looking house huddled amongst its neighbors.

OK for that going back in time. Tear it down and build an expensive condo on its valuable plot. Either that, or bill the owner for what the property is worth.

Is he tax controlled?